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  • Book Club: Page to Stage (Fall 2025)

Fall 2025

Book Club: Page to Stage

This Journey invites mentees and mentors to explore classic and contemporary literature through both reading and performance. Participants will read three books and then experience them brought to life through dynamic solo stage adaptations in partnership with Literature to Life (LTL).

Girls Write Now Collaboratory

This Journey is Closed, but You Can Apply for a Fall 2026 Journey Now!

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Book Club: Page to Stage Community Experiences

Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly Journey meetings and one Journey workshop listed below.

Each meeting features a hybrid performance by Literature to Life (LTL) of one of the three books listed below. Sessions run for two hours and include a 15-minute introduction by LTL, a 60-minute solo performance, a 15-minute Q&A facilitated by LTL, and 30 minutes of reflection, discussion, and comparison between the book and its stage adaptation.

  • Saturday, November 15, 2025 2-4 pm: If Beale Street Could Talk
  • Saturday, December 13, 2025 2-4 pm: Fahrenheit 451
  • Saturday, January 24, 2026 2-4 pm: The Great Gatsby
If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options include Community Studios and Salon Experiences.
Journey Circle: Community

Book Club: Page to Stage Courses

Welcome to Book Club: Page to Stage Journey.
This course is designed to help develop critical thinking skills, engage with literary criticism, and form a reading practice. Specific topics range from active reading to review writing to connecting stories to current events.

Writing

Book Club: Page to Stage Mentoring

Mentees and mentors in the Book Club: Page to Stage Journey will be matched for one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. Mentees will write a piece in response to one of the books and its performance, with mentors providing support and guidance throughout the process. This Journey is open to both mentor-mentee pairs and Peer-to-Peer pairs.

Journey Teaching Artist

Annaya Baynes

Girls Write Now Staff

Annaya Baynes (she/they) is a Community Coordinator. They graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and French. As an undergraduate, she worked on Spelman’s social justice podcast, The Blue Record, and the reproductive justice-oriented podcast Black Feminist Rants. Annaya has interned at various publishing houses, including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and The Feminist Press. They have a deep love for literature and film. She is a Master’s student at NYU’s Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies.

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Book Club

What Past Participants Have to Say

“I really enjoyed being able to read some great books and watch some cool performances.”
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Alejandre Lamas-Nemec Mentee
“[I] learn[ed] new things about myself through being in community with others who love words and language – I knew I would love being a mentor, as I have been one in other capacities, but the specific literary emphasis surprised me in how connected it made me feel with others.”
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Lisa Borten Mentor
“I think seeing the Literature for Life presentations in person was the best. I was able to see incredible performers bridge both theater and literature in beautiful adaptations that I was lucky enough to see in person. I was also able to talk to some of the adults in the audience and have meaningful conversations with some mentors and guests from the public. Many of the people I talked to were much older than me yet we were able to have meaningful and enjoyable conversations. I probably would never have seen the performances or connected with the people I did if I stayed at home so I’m really happy that I went in to the office for those experiences. Girls Write Now impacted my personal growth by teaching me the skill of editing my work. My mentor encouraged me to look for edits that I could make, and even discuss or question her edits to my essay. I feel confident in my editing which is a skill that I never had before as a writer, and I’m excited to keep working. ”
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Sofia Elena Salyer Mentee

Journeys in the Read 360 Adventure focus on close readings of books and creative works in community with other writers. Think of it as a Girls Write Now book club!

Book Club: Page to Stage is a Journey in the Read 360 Adventure.

See All Adventures

Explore All Journeys

Explore All Journeys

Everything Is a Story: Nonfiction that Reads like Fiction (Fall 2026)

In this Journey, mentees and mentors will explore the ways in which creative storytelling techniques can be applied to nonfiction writing of all kinds, from memoir and personal essay to op-ed and how-to articles. We will dive into what makes a story—from structural archetypes to writing that flows—and learn how to harness the power of story to make nonfiction compelling and transformative.

Wild Ideas: Nature, Science & Creativity (Fall 2026)

Created in honor of Helen Ghiradella, the biologist who uncovered the hidden architecture of butterfly wings, this Journey invites you, mentor and mentee, to explore the natural world through the complementary lenses of scientific inquiry and creative expression. Through close observation, research, and reflection, you'll investigate the forms, patterns, and processes found in nature, then build an original project—writing, visual art, media, performance, music, or a form of your own choosing—that celebrates where these disciplines meet. Along the way, you'll sharpen your powers of observation, stretch your interdisciplinary thinking, and develop the ability to translate scientific understanding into meaningful art.

Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Fall 2026)

In this Journey, you—mentor and mentee—will build essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through hands-on activities and lively discussion, you'll learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present your ideas with confidence. You'll explore what makes communication land, sharpen your thinking under pressure, and practice responding to perspectives unlike your own in a structured setting. By the end, you'll be able to make your case clearly, engage in dialogue that goes somewhere, and carry these skills into academic, professional, and civic life.

Civil Discourse Connection & Persuasion; two girls speaking with a mic

Dark Tales: A Horror Book Club (Fall 2026)

Step into the shadows of horror and discover what makes a story truly unsettling. Across three monthly book club meetings, you—mentor and mentee—will dig into close readings and lively discussion of selected works, examining how authors build suspense, conjure atmosphere, evoke fear, and use the genre to probe deeper social, psychological, and cultural questions. Together you'll unpack narrative technique, character development, and the many shapes the genre can take. By summer's end, you'll have a richer appreciation for horror, sharper critical instincts as readers, and a store of inspiration and craft to carry into your own writing. Required books this cycle: Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce, The Body by Bethany C. Morrow, and I'll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel.

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